BIA’S POSITION ON LA HULPE DECLARATION ON THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN PILLAR OF SOCIAL RIGHTS
BIA has sent its position and proposals on the draft of the Declaration of La Hulpe on the future of the European Pillar of Social Rights to the Minister of Labour and Social Policy.
In connection with the preparation of the position of the Republic of Bulgaria on the occasion of the La Hulpe Declaration on the future of the European Pillar of Social Rights, we remind you of our expectations regarding issues in the social sphere of key importance, the discussion of which is pending at the European level, to be discussed with the social partners, so that the state's position can account for their position.
At the moment, the draft text of the Declaration has not been sent to the social partners. BIA has access to it due to its membership in BusinessEurope, one of the countries slated to sign the declaration. The procedure within Working Group 13 "Social issues and employment" is formal and insufficient for the purposes of in-depth discussion with the social partners. We strongly state our expectation for a significant change in the process of forming the country's position on social policy issues at the European Union level.
The declaration, which is to be approved in mid-April, is a contribution to the EU's Strategic Agenda for the period 2024-2029 and is undoubtedly a key document for the social partners. In view of the above, we are sending principled comments to be discussed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy when preparing the position for the working group on social issues, which will discuss the draft declaration on March 25, 2024.
In our opinion, the initial version of the Declaration is one-sided and contains very limited references to the need for economic growth, competitiveness and higher productivity based on skills and knowledge, as well as the functioning of the internal market.
We note that a discussion of a National Plan for the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights was never held.
